Secret plot to sabotage Government's vaping clampdown using online bots exposed
An investigation has been launched into who was behind an extraordinary bid to sabotage a clampdown on youth vaping.
An attempt to rig the public consultation on the issue saw bots used to submit tens of thousands of fake responses. The Government believes 90,835 of the almost 120,000 submissions made - which is more than three quarters - were actually fraudulent.
Ministers have announced plans to ban disposable vapes early next year as they try to stop kids taking up the habit. Flavours that appeal to youngsters and brightly coloured packaging will be prohibited.
The legal age to buy tobacco will also be gradually raised so anyone who turns 15 this year will never be allowed to purchase cigarettes. The public consultation on the plans, which ran for eight weeks until early December, was bombarded with suspicious responses.
The Government said 90,835 of the 118,756 received “were unambiguously identified as having been submitted by automated programmes, commonly known as bots, and so deemed to be fraudulent” and disregarded. It said the suspicious responses “were often duplicated many times and sent at high frequency from a small number of IP addresses, which is consistent with a mass automated campaign, or ‘bots’”.
They look and taste like sweets - no wonder underage vaping is sweeping Britain
Officials are looking into who was behind the attempt to wreck the consultation.
A majority of the responses not deemed fraudulent backed raising the legal age you can buy cigarettes and the ban on disposable vapes. But they were less conclusive on whether the flavours should be restricted with 47% in favour of the idea and 51% against. There was also a division between those who thought that tobacco should be the only flavour of vapes available and those who believed there should be four options - tobacco, mint, menthol and fruits.
The Government is going to consult further before making a final decision on restrictions of flavours and rules on how they can be displayed in shops. Ministers argue the changes are needed to protect kids as figures show one in five has now tried vaping despite it being illegal for under-18s. E-cigarettes can be helpful for smokers wanting to quit, but there are worries that the addictive habit is being taken up by those who have never had cigarettes.
Research shows that half of those aged between 18 and 24 who use disposable vapes do so despite no history of smoking. Health campaigners have warned that they are being lured in by pocket money prices, with throwaway products available for as little as £3. There is also a problem with litter as five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
